15 Minutes

Starring: Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Karel Roden, Oleg Taktarou, Vera Farmiga, Kelsey Grammar, Charlize Theron, Kim Cattrall, David Alan Grier
Directed by: John Herzfeld
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A homicide detective (Robert De Niro) and a fire marshal (Edward Burns) team up to track down two immigrants on a killing spree.

Review:
Tim: 15 Minutes is an action drama that tries really hard to feature some powerful commentary on the role of the media in our violent-obsessed culture. Unfortunately, it tries too hard. The film features a pretty good story- a cop and a fireman team up to bring two immigrants on a killing rampage to justice. I'm interested in that story. However, in an attempt to be different, the film wraps this simple story in a web of commentary about our media-driven culture, how killers are getting paid millions for movie and book rights, how violence sells, etc. This does give the film a unique spin, but it also hurts the movie quite a bit.

I actually really enjoyed the main story. We have Robert De Niro as a famous detective, and Edward Burns as a not-famous fire marshal. It's really fun to see them working together to solve this case. I liked their interactions, and the murderers are interesting and deadly enough to create a good deal of suspense and tension. That aspect of the film is really, really fun.

I was less into the whole media thing. I know the film is called 15 Minutes because of Andy Warhol's quote about in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. Our antagonists are certainly killing so they can get famous. That aspect is fine. However, the movie just keeps hammering this message down our throats- we get several scenes of daytime television shows about murderers and their book deals, we get commentary on double jeopardy rules, on killers being found mentally incompetent and often blaming their actions on their parents or their upbringing. We have news media showing shocking, controversial footage purely for ratings but claiming it's their "duty" to do so. The movie just keeps hitting us over the head with it. We very quickly get the message, but the film does not let up. Even worse, we keep getting all these awful shots of the killers videotaping the murders, but with incredibly annoying filters or "special effects" on the camera. These scenes look terrible, and they add nothing to the movie. The beginning of the film features a lot of these moments, and they are so incredibly annoying. Why do we need to see blurry, poorly shot footage from the killers? We get it, they are filming the crimes. These scenes just took me out of the flow of the story. I would have liked the film much more with less of those stupid scenes and a little more subtlety about the media aspect.

The cast is pretty good. Robert De Niro works well in the role. While it feels like he's slumming just a little, his performance is solid, and he raises the quality of the movie. I love Edward Burns, and I liked him in this role. He really showed off his everyman qualities and gets the audience to identify with him. He and De Niro work well together, and my favorite moments of the film were almost always with these two actors together. I wish they had more screen time. That De Niro-Burns pairing is easily the main reason to see this movie.

The supporting cast is good, too. Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarou are both quite good as the killers. This is important, because they get an absurd amount of screen time. While I liked their performances, I wish the movie would have focused a bit less on them and more on our protagonists. Still, their performances are impressive, and they make their characters more well-rounded and interesting than the typical villains. I also liked seeing Vera Farmiga in a small role (she really does have talent as an actress) but wish she had more to do. Charlize Theron shows up as a favor to the director, and David Alan Grier has a small but funny role. Overall, the cast is quite strong.

Now, for the most part, I was entertained by 15 Minutes. I appreciate that the film tried to have more substance than your average cop action film. However, I do wish it had spent a bit less time trying to be timely and important and focused more on telling an entertaining story. The film's climax is a bit too Hollywood and seemed far-fetched. It was not nearly as satisfying as it should have been. The conclusion just felt rushed and forced, and I did not care for it much. Still, this movie does a lot right. While I can't consider it a good film, it's a decent attempt and a movie I do not mind watching.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: 88 Minutes, Righteous Kill, Heat